Brandon Flowers Notes: 49ers, Titans, Chargers
By now, you’ve likely heard that Pro Bowl cornerback Brandon Flowers was cut by the Chiefs this afternoon. Earlier, Luke Adams compiled some rumors linking Flowers to potential new teams. Among the favorites were the Falcons and Redskins, with the Panthers, Jets, 49ers and Titans listed as having interest.
With such news, many writers were eager to give their take on whether Flowers would be a fit with their respective clubs. Let’s see what they had to say…
- While the 49ers could certainly use a cornerback, ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson thinks it’s doubtful that they’ll be able to land Flowers. The writer believes the team will consider the player, but multiple factors – including the team’s need for more of a bruising, tall defensive back and the understanding that another team will be able to offer more money – may prevent the former Pro-Bowler from joining Jim Harbaugh‘s squad.
- ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky spoke to a scout about Flowers and came away with the impression that the cornerback would not be a fit for the Titans. Flowers’ struggles playing man coverage last season may clash with the team’s desire to play more man in 2014. Furthermore, the writer believes the team would be just fine with the trio of Jason McCourty, Coty Sensabaugh and Blidi Wreh-Wilson.
- When asked if the Chargers would consider Flowers, ESPN.com’s Eric D. Williams says that the team “has enough 5-10 corners on the roster” and that Flowers would not be upgrade.
Minor Moves: Giants, Jean, Lynch
Today’s minor moves include a pair of Giants, a trio of wide receivers and (you guessed it) four injured players. Let’s check them out…
- Giants wide receiver Kris Adams was added to the team’s reserve list, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Adams had two catches with the Colts in 2012.
- The Giants have come to an injury settlement with defensive back Jocquel Skinner and removed him from their injured reserve, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Vikings wideout Lestar Jean has cleared waivers and will be placed on injured reserve, the team announced (via Twitter). Jean has ten career receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown.
- The Colts have placed safety Corey Lynch on the injured reserve, according to Craig Kelley of Colts.com (via Twitter). The 29-year-old will be joining defensive end Fili Moala, who was placed on the IR earlier this week.
- The Titans have signed wide receiver Rico Richardson and waived injured linebacker James Gayle, reports ESPN.com Paul Kuharsky (via Twitter). Richardson was on the Chiefs practice squad last season and was released by the Texans last month. Gayle is an undrafted rookie out of Virginia Tech.
- The Lions have added offensive tackle Bryce Quigley, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The undrafted rookie, who suffered a season-ending injury in San Diego State’s finale, worked out with the Lions yesterday.
Falcons, Others Eyeing Brandon Flowers
Scott Pioli was the Chiefs‘ general manager back in 2012 when Brandon Flowers signed a lucrative five-year extension to remain with the team. Today, Flowers is the latest veteran player to hit the free agent market, Pioli is working in Atlanta as an assistant general manager for the Falcons, and there are rumblings that the pair could be on track for a reunion.
According to Jim Trotter of SI.com (Twitter link), Atlanta and Washington are among the early potential landing spots for Flowers, and the Pioli connection is very much “in play” for the Falcons. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) also links the Falcons to the free agent cornerback, indicating that the club had been monitoring the Flowers situation in Kansas City and was preparing for his potential release.
Still, the Falcons and Redskins aren’t the only possible suitors for Flowers. Let’s round up the latest chatter on the 2013 Pro Bowler….
- ESPN.com’s John Clayton (Twitter link) names the Panthers, Jets, and 49ers as teams he thinks could at least kick the tires on Flowers. However, Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) thinks the corner is probably too pricey for Carolina, while Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link) would be surprised if New York pursued him.
- Similarly, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link) would be “very surprised” if the Colts got too involved for the 28-year-old.
- The Titans are assessing the Flowers situation to determine whether or not he’d fit in Tennessee, tweets Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. According to Kuharsky (Twitter link), the opportunity may be too good for the club to pass up, if the price is right.
- Trotter hears that several teams who ruled out the possibility of trading for Flowers are now circling back and considering pursuing him as a free agent (Twitter link).
South Notes: Graham, Hilton, Panthers, Titans
Jimmy Graham‘s hearing on the positional designation for his franchise tag is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday, and at least one Saints beat writer believes the Saints should win the decision. Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune points to Graham’s production during the rare instances when he was covered by a cornerback last season, arguing that his numbers in those cases don’t compare favorably at all to the league’s best receivers. The idea of determining a player’s value based on his position rather than his overall contributions to the team seems a little archaic to me, so I appreciate that Holder’s argument centers more around the pressure Graham puts on a defense rather than where he lines up — even if that may ultimately not affect the arbitrator’s decision. We’ll have to wait and see if the NFL management council makes a similar case during next week’s hearing.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two South divisions:
- After parting ways with agent Drew Rosenhaus, Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton has hired Maverick Carter and Erik Burkhardt to represent him, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Hilton still has two years left on his rookie deal.
- In the wake of Jordan Gross‘ retirement, the Panthers still aren’t sure who will be protecting Cam Newton‘s blind side at left tackle this season, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press.
- Northern Colorado signal-caller Seth Lobato auditioned for the Titans yesterday, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Lobato went undrafted last month and signed with the Colts as a free agent, but was cut by the team earlier in June.
- Former Dolphin Will Yeatman, who was converted from a tight end to an offensive lineman a couple years back, has visited the Texans this week, as well as the Vikings, according to Wilson. Yeatman is recovering from an ACL injury but is expected to be ready for the season.
AFC Links: Titans, Ravens, Texans, Browns
A former first-round pick, longtime defensive end Derrick Morgan will be shifting to outside linebacker in the Titans‘ new defensive system this year. As he tells Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, Morgan is hoping to make a smooth transition and have a productive season in what will be the final year of his rookie contract.
“I definitely think about it,” Morgan said of his expiring contract. “But at the same time, you can’t put too much energy into something like that. It is football and I am going to approach things the same way as I always have. I am going to play hard, and at the end of the year I hope everything works out the way it is supposed to.”
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- As the 49ers’ tight ends coach, Eric Mangini will be working closely this season with Vernon Davis, a player that drew his interest during the 2006 draft. “When I was with the Jets I really loved Vernon in the draft,” Mangini said, per Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant. “We were pretty close to drafting him in New York.”
- Longtime NFL receiver Donte Stallworth, who last played for the Patriots in 2012, has joined the Ravens‘ coaching staff as a summer intern, the club announced today in a press release.
- The Texans will be looking to find a fullback during training camp, with rookie Jay Prosch among those competing for the job, head coach Bill O’Brien said yesterday (link via Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle).
- Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com poses 25 questions for the Browns to consider as the team prepares to begin its mandatory minicamp.
- After an uninspiring rookie campaign, 2013 third-round pick Dallas Thomas will have a second chance to earn playing time on the Dolphins‘ offensive line this season, writes Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- While Kyle Auffray’s primary position is tight end, the newly-signed Patriot also has experience at quarterback and punter, notes Mike Wilkering of Pro Football Talk. Auffray is still a long shot to make New England’s regular season roster, but that versatility could be a plus.
AFC Notes: Fitzpatrick, Jernigan, Pats, Titans
The Texans waited until the fourth round of last month’s draft to add a quarterback (Pittsburgh’s Tom Savage), so it appears that they will head into the 2014 season with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starting signal-caller. As Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle writes, many members of the Texans coaching staff have previously worked with Fitzpatrick, whom the Texans signed to a two-year, $7.25MM deal. Houston’s defensive unit is expected to be the team’s strength, but new head coach Bill O’Brien is confident in Fitzpatrick to lead the offensive side of the ball. “It’s about decision-making,” said O’Brien. “Not forcing the ball and understanding that you have a really good back out of the backfield in [Arian] Foster that you can always check it down to. … We believe in our system. But at the end of the day, Ryan, he needs to go out there and make good decisions and make sure he is doing what is best for the team.”
More from around the AFC:
- Ravens rookie Timmy Jernigan, who is competing for the left defensive end spot in Baltimore’s defense, is off to a good start, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “…[H]e’s flashing a lot,” said offensive guard Kelechi Osemele. “He’s playing fast, especially for being a young guy, and being thrown in there with the [first-teamers] every now and then and it being a new system and everything. He’s coming along really well.”
- The Ravens might be set at right tackle with Ricky Wagner and Ryan Jensen, per Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com. Osemele is probably going to stay at left guard, so barring a veteran addition, the two second-year players will battle it out for the starting position.
- Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis will be playing more man coverage after failing to get comfortable in the Buccaneers’ zone scheme last season, and his presence will allow safety Devin McCourty (who is engaged in extension talks) to roam the defensive backfield, according to ESPN.com’s Jeffri Chadiha.
- Following Alterraun Verner‘s departure, the Titans will hold a competition between 2013 third-rounder Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Coty Sensabaugh, a 2012 fourth-round pick, for the starting cornerback position opposite Jason McCourty, reports the staff of the Daily News Journal.
- Browns head coach Mike Pettine didn’t list a particular reason for releasing linebacker Quentin Groves, writes Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “…[W]hen you have situations like that with a veteran player you are better off doing it sooner rather than later to give them an opportunity to catch on somewhere else,” said Pettine. My guess is the Browns, who are stacked at outside linebacker with the likes of Paul Kruger, Jabaal Sheard, and Barkevious Mingo, simply weren’t keen on paying Groves’ $1MM base salary.
Trade Candidate: Michael Roos
As our Luke Adams wrote at the end of May, Titans offensive tackle Michael Roos told Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean that he will be in Tennessee for one more year. As Adams observed, Roos’ statement certainly indicates that an extension is not on the horizon for him, which is not surprising given the four-year deal the team handed out to Michael Oher in free agency and the fact that the team selected Taylor Lewan in the first round of last month’s draft.
However, whether Roos will, as he says, stay in a Titans uniform for one more season may still be in doubt. Unless someone in the Tennessee front office told Roos that the team planned on keeping him on board, Roos remains a prime candidate to be traded or released. As our Ben Levine pointed out several weeks ago, Roos checked in at number four on NFL.com’s Chris Wesserling’s list of the top 10 players most likely to be traded this summer.
Roos, 31, is entering the final year of a six-year, $43MM deal, and he carries a 2014 salary cap hit of $6.62MM. That salary would make it difficult for Tennessee to deal him, and considering that the team would not take on any dead money by simply cutting Roos, a release is probably more likely than a trade at this point.
It is odd, though, that the team would consider cutting ties with him at all. Although he finished in the middle of the pack among offensive tackles in 2013 according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), he finished as the third-best tackle in 2012 and has anchored the team’s offensive line for years. If nothing else, he provides top-quality depth if Lewan should struggle out of the gate–or if the team wanted to bring Lewan along more slowly–or if Oher should falter (although Roos has not played right tackle since he was a rookie in 2005, it is difficult to believe he would be a downgrade from Oher at that position).
In sum, then, the Titans are in full control of the situation at this point. If they hang onto Roos, they have either a quality starter or an excellent insurance policy. If they need to create come cap space for whatever reason, they can release Roos with no negative cap ramifications. Or, if a team gets desperate enough later on in camp–Wesserling listed the Ravens and Panthers as potential landing spots for Roos if Tennessee were to trade him, and both teams are still unsettled at at least one tackle position–it is possible that the Titans could end up with a late round pick in 2015. A rare win-win-win scenario in today’s NFL.
Photo courtesy of USA TODAY Sports Images
Extension Talks Underway For McCourty, Casey
The Patriots have reached out to Devin McCourty‘s camp to begin contract negotiations for the standout safety, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, reports Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link) clarifies that while the Pats have informed McCourty they’re interested in an extension, the two sides haven’t officially begun to negotiate specific figures yet.
Meanwhile, according to Breer (via Twitter), McCourty isn’t the only notable AFC defender whose team is eyeing a new contract — nose tackle Jurrell Casey and the Titans have also had early discussions about an extension.
McCourty, 26, didn’t post the same flashy numbers in 2013 that he has in past seasons, grabbing just one interception after totaling 14 in his first three NFL seasons. However, the former 27th overall pick received excellent scores for his overall performance from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), whose grades ranked him as the league’s best safety in ’13. Given the big-money deals signed by fellow safeties like Jairus Byrd and Earl Thomas in recent months, McCourty should be in line for a multiyear contract that rivals the $9-10MM annual salaries earned by those players.
As for Casey, the 24-year-old is coming off a breakout season in which he compiled 10.5 sacks and 55 tackles, ranking fourth among 69 qualified defensive tackles, per PFF’s metrics (subscription required). Casey’s pass-rushing grades placed him behind only Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh as an interior rusher, as he racked up 54 quarterback pressures for the season. Not coincidentally, Suh and McCoy are the league’s top two highest-paid defensive tackles by per-year salary, so Casey, who will earn a $1.431MM base salary in the last year of his rookie contract, should also expect a lucrative long-term deal.
Minor Moves: Browns, Titans, Chiefs, Giants
We can expect plenty more transactions throughout the day as teams continue to sign draft picks and shuffle players around at the backs of their rosters, but we already have a handful of minor moves to round up this morning, so let’s dive right in….
- In addition to cutting edge rusher Quentin Groves, as we noted earlier today, the Browns have also cut linebacker Larry Grant, the team announced (via Twitter). The Ohio State product, who has spent time with the Rams, Niners, and Bears, just signed with the Browns about two weeks ago, so his stint in Cleveland didn’t last long.
- Wide receiver Josh Stewart, who was waived by the Titans earlier this week, received the waived-injured designation at the time, and has now been transferred to the club’s injured reserve list, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- When the Chiefs parted ways with defensive lineman Risean Broussard yesterday, it was with the waived-injured designation, tweets Wilson. As such, we can probably expect the 22-year-old to land on Kansas City’s IR.
- Offensive lineman Stephen Goodin, who hit the Giants‘ IR after being waived last week, has been removed from the list with an injury settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter). Goodin, who had spent two seasons with the club, is now an unrestricted free agent.
Extra Points: Blount, Allen, Anderson, Titans
Interviews with a cross section of executives, analysts, and observers suggest the landscape is ripe for an NFL-sanctioned developmental league to replace NFL Europe, writes Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. There is some concern that it will be a money pit as NFL Europe lost $30MM for the league, but a competitive TV deal would assuage those concerns. More from around the league..
- Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount told SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) that he was surprised that there wasn’t more money spent on the free agent running back market this offseason. He went on to say that Toby Gerhart, who landed with the Jaguars, shouldn’t have been the highest paid RB of the bunch. Blount himself got a two-year, $3.85MM deal from Pittsburgh.
- Raiders coach Dennis Allen is happy with his club’s offseason haul, but the third-year coach didn’t get the veteran tight end he wanted, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Oakland has been connected to free agent tight end Jermichael Finley, but as it stands, the team will have to find its man from among a group that includes David Ausberry, Mychal Rivera, and Nick Kasa.
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com looks at the Patriots‘ linebacker corps after the signing of veteran James Anderson. Anderson has worn down in the second half of recent seasons, but New England is probably planning on giving him a more limited workload compared to what he’s used to.
- The Titans have agreed to terms with cornerback Marc Anthony, according to Jim Wyatt of The Tenneseean (on Twitter). Wide receiver Josh Stewart was waived in order to make room.